Zimbabwe: Flash Floods - Feb 2014

Glide: FF-2014-000015-ZWE

Overview

Heavy rains in parts of Zimbabwe in late January and early February 2014 resulted in deaths and displacement of people, coupled with destruction of property. The worst affected areas were Chivi and Masvingo districts in Masvingo province and Tsholotsho district in Matabeleland North (OCHA, 07 Feb 2014). On 11 Feb, Zimbabwean authorities launched an international appeal for $20 million to help some 20,000 people displaced by flooding (Govt, 12 Feb 2014).

By the end of February, an estimated 2,194 households had been moved to the Chingwizi resettlement camp(OCHA, 28 Feb 2014). By 16 May, an estimated 15,625 people were living at Chingwizi(OCHA, 16 May 2014). In August, the Government officially closed the Chingiwizi transit camp (The Zimbabwean, 19 Aug 2014).

This map illustrates satellite-detected water bodies at the Tokwe Mukorsi Dam, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, as imaged by TerraSAR-X on 18 February 2014. The flooded area above the dam has decreased slightly since the previous analysis using an image from 11 February 2014 and currently encompasses about 2,278 ha. It is likely that flood waters have been systematically underestimated along highly vegetated areas along main river banks because of the special characteristics of the satellite data used. This analysis has not yet been validated in the field.

This map presents the estimated total rainfall accumulation for Zimbabwe covering the period from 9th to 15th February 2014. This total estimate was derived from the Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) precipitation dataset at a spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees for this region. It is possible that precipitation levels may have been underestimated for local areas, and is not a substitute for ground station measurements.

This map illustrates satellite-detected water bodies at the Tokwe Mukorsi Dam, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, as detected by TerraSAR-X on 11 February 2014. The flooded area above the dam has greatly increased due to recent heavy rains and currently encompasses about 2,300 ha. A total of 143 locations and 751 structures were submerged by the increasing flood water extent. It is likely that flood waters have been systematically underestimated along highly vegetated areas along main river banks because of the special characteristics of the satellite data used.

This map presents the estimated total rainfall accumulation for Zimbabwe covering the period from 1st to 8th February 2014. This total estimate was derived from the Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) precipitation dataset at a spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees for this region. It is possible that precipitation levels may have been underestimated for local areas, and is not a substitute for ground station measurements.